Commercial banks and savings institutions increased the amount of mortgage servicing rights they handle for other investors in the fourth quarter of 2018, although valuations for the asset softened. [Includes one data chart]

Industry groups have once again requested federal regulators delay a new accounting standard for credit losses. The Current Expected Credit Loss standard is scheduled to be implemented on a phased-in basis beginning in January.

The mortgage market expects output to be flat this year, but digital mortgage lender Better.com said it could double its production to $2.5 billion. “We did about $1.3 billion last year, which is three times what we did in 2017,” the company’s President Jerry Selitto said.

Despite hefty declines in their sales volume last year, Wells Fargo and PennyMac continued to rank as the top sources of third-party originations in agency mortgage-backed securities. [Includes one data chart]

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